What Tangled Webs We Weave
by muppetmadness
Summary: Everyone has secrets, and Lisa was just the beginning of Ianto Jones'. After everything that has happened, why is he feeling so drawn to the organisation which took everything from him? From Canary Wharf onwards JackxIanto, Janto fic.
1. Chapter 1

This begins at Canry Wharf on the day of the Battle. This fic is basically an accumulation of all the little ideas for fics I have had that seemed to just come together!

"Oh what a tangled web we weave,  
When first we practise to deceive!"

Pretty much, for me, sums up Ianto in this fic, because the secrets he keeps, or divulges, secrets he doesn't even realise he knows, arethis massive part of who he is and why he does what he does. Will eventually be Janto, cause it is the best darn pairing ever!

..--..--..--..

Jeffrey almost had a spring in his step, almost, as he swiped his ID card along the machine and moved through the metal detector. Twenty-four Krispy Kreme donuts were tucked under his arm. Original glazed for himself, pink icing for Lisa, chocolate for Ianto, apple filled for Sarai and cream for Elle.

Oh God, Elle!

She had looked so beautiful in that brown dress; uncharacteristically dressed up for their date. And his palms had been sweating. Sweating for Christ's sake! He kept having to wipe them on the tablecloth, discretely leaving dark stains on the fabric. Then he had nodded to the waiter, and the song had come on. Their song. And he could see in her eyes the hope and love, which confirmed she knew exactly what he was going to do next.

And he had.

One knee and everything.

So now he had a suppressed spring in his step (because he was at work now). Still, he was getting some odd looks due to the enormous grin he wasn't able to control. It felt like it was about to split his face wide open. But he didn't care, because he was going to marry Elle Stevens and that was all that mattered.

"She said 'yes' then?" he heard the familiar voice as he plopped himself down at his desk. A wheelie chair immerged gracefully from the cubicle next to him, being pushed with lazy feet by his colleague and best friend Ianto Jones. "That's a shocker."

"Keep wheeling yourself off the side of the building Jones." Jeff shot back, though the witty effect was lost by his telltale smile.

"Now, now Jeffrey. Don't be mean to poor lickle Ianto. His feet only just reach the ground in that chair." That was Sarai, who had walked into their conversation with a hands full of Starbucks coffee cups, which they gratefully took.

"Just because you are approaching the retirement home, it doesn't mean you get to take it out on the whippersnappers." Ianto grinned.

Sarai was only in her late thirties, but was still a lot older than the others in their strange friendship group. She only came around to their area when there was nothing for her to do, which was really quite often. At first Jeff hadn't really understood why they wanted to bother hiring someone like Sarai; she was scatty and received a ridiculously large salary for what seemed like no work, if her constant presence in their research office was anything got go by. However, as one of his main duties at Torchwood was to run background checks while recruiting new workers, Jeffrey had been privy to all the sordid details of each of their backgrounds involving aliens.

And fuck, if she hadn't just been hiding a pretty incredible secret in her grubby lab coat!

She had been working at a busy hospital in London, when a man had rushed in, carrying a body in his arms, yelling that the woman had been attacked. It was an emergency, they had cleared a space for surgery, Sarai had been leading the operation, and she had opened the woman up.

And found an alien anatomy.

A dying alien anatomy.

And without any prior knowledge of non-human life forms' body workings, Sarai

Woodlin had saved her life.

She was only bought in by Torchwood for the health of test subjects and autopsies and the occasional medical disaster.

But damn was she good.

..--..--..--..

Ianto undid the top button of his shirt as he stepped outside and moved towards the river, where a smartly dressed figure was leaning over the water.

He rested against the wall next to her, staring away from the Thames and towards a café, where someone had just split their coffee, and a strange form of real life mime was playing out.

The woman breathed out a sigh of contentment and offered Ianto her cigarette packet. He shook his head.

"I promised Lisa I'd quit," he explained. She snorted, then smiled serenely.

"Yeah, I told Jeff the same thing. But I'm still here." She waved the small, glowing stick vaguely.

"He's waiting for you in the office you know."

"I know."

"So why don't you-"

"I'm terrified. It seems like a dream."

"A good dream?"

"Of course. I mean, I'm terrified it will all have been a mistake."

"A terrible, good, dream-like mistake?" he smirked.

"Something like that," She replied, laughing just a little. "I'm being ridiculous aren't I?"

"He loves you. Smoking and all. He bought cream filled donuts and everything."

"Wedding dress be damned?"

"We can always take the cream out."

They stood in silence, listening to the lull of traffic from across the river and the muddle of music from the open doorways.

A huddle of ghosts wandered past. It seemed strange how quickly they had gotten used to them, hardly paying them any attention. But of course, working for Torchwood exposed them to all manner of unbelievable things.

Ghosts were positively normal.

..--..--..--..

July. Midday. The sun was remarkably unblemished by clouds or rain, or, as it so often happened in London, both. Ianto un-tucked his shirt and fanned himself with one hand, while Lisa held the other, swinging it back and forth in a practiced rhythm.

They walked with a purpose; they already knew exactly where they were going. It was almost automatic that every Friday on their lunch break they would go to Borough Market for lunch. Lisa pointed out, in a sort of easy tradition, the numerous unfortunate joggers sweating past.

"Girl jogger, dun dun dun duh dun. Girl jogger," she hummed to herself and Ianto laughed. The jogger in question gave them a dirty look.

They passed by the usual sights, crowded with over-excited tourists; the Tate, the Globe and the Golden Hind. Places they had always intended to visit, but which faded into the background of unsurpassable normality.

Borough Market was one of Lisa's favourite places in London. It was so busy and organic, with stalls and shops, buying and selling. Smells of delicious food mingled together in the air; chocolate, soup, cheese, fish, fruit and vegetables all mixed up with the sound of shouting and people.

Edging around the market, between the back of the stalls and Southwark Cathedral, they made their way to the small path where their favourite food shop was. Sure enough Sam was outside, with a colossal vat of home-made paella.

"Same as usual?" he asked, already dishing up two steaming cartons of the delicious rice dish, not even waiting for a reply.

"We are so predicable!" Lisa groaned.

"Nah, we just have good taste, right Sam?"

"Damn straight!"

..--..--..--..

Half an hour (and a bowl of paella) later, Lisa and Ianto walked back into Canary Wharf and proceeded up the lift to the offices.

Usually, at half twelve, most of the office would be at lunch, and the rest were working quietly, rushing to finish for a deadline. The scene they returned to, however, was one of busy excitement. Jeff pushed his way through the crowd.

"He's here!"

Lisa looked confused, "Who?"

"The Doctor, of course! They have him; Yvonne is talking to him right now!"

Ianto drew in a breath and Lisa beamed at him. "Now you can talk to him in person, Yan."

"Is she-?" Ianto began, before Jeff interrupted.

"We don't know, but she has to be doesn't she? How surprised will she be that you work at Torchwood?!"

Ianto's phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Who is it?" Lisa asked eagerly.

"Shh," Ianto pressed a finger to his lips, "I know, I'm at work. I know- that is my work. I told you didn't I? Okay… what? Jac-where are you? Okay get out before you lose sight of where you are. Oh, I don't know use a lab coat or something. Stay out of trouble. Love you too. Oh hang on wait-"

"Who was that?" Jeff asked, already knowing the answer.

"Who do you think?"

"And?"

"Where the Doctor is, so is disaster. But you are safer the nearer you are to him. I'm staying here til then."

"So says the resident Doctor expert. I'm going to nip into Elle's office downstairs and see if they know anything."

"Where's Sarai?"

"Sarai- she's been called to examine the Doctor."

When Jeff was gone, Lisa put a hand on Ianto's shoulder, "Did she cut out at the end?"

"Yeah- I was just going to tell her about Sam, so she doesn't get too big of a surprise when she finds out."

"What do you think the Doctor is here for?"

"I'd assume it is because of these ghosts- he hasn't been back to this world since they appeared. That, and the giant ball of nothing in the basement."


	2. Chapter 2

Here goes...Chapter Two, hope you like it!

Oh and of course I don't own the premise of Torchwood, Ianto and Lisa etc. But Sarai, Jeff and Elle are all mine :P

..--..--..--..

Sarai could not keep the grin from her face- she was going to meet _the_ Doctor- the last of his kind - _Timelord_ Doctor! She barely paid mind as a young blonde in a labcoat walked past, unnecessarily flashing what looked like an ID in her direction - probably an intern - thought they needed to show it to everyone.

..--..--..--..

Lisa had logged one of the computers onto the ADMIN account and most of the office was sitting round watching the CCTV footage on the screen, which showed the Doctor and Yvonne on one of the top levels.

Most of the workers had bought their lunches round and were munching on sandwiches and salads as they stared.

"So who's that with him then?" one asked.

"It's gotta be his companion isn't it?" another reasoned.

"Can't you get sound Lisa?"

"No, I bloody well cannot. Isn't it enough I hack into the footage for you? Ungrateful people," Lisa scolded, but she was smiling.

"What time is it?"

"Coming up to the next ghost shift."

"Excellent, see what he makes of this!"

"What?!"

"Why did he stop it?"

..--..--..--..

That was the day everything changed. The day the comforting and familiar ghosts turned into the nightmare's that would plague the survivors for years after. Time sped up and slowed down alterately, one moment they were laughing; Ianto could see his collegues heads shaking in slow motion, the methodical chewing of lunches; and the next there was screaming and terror. Men monsters coming for them. He could hardly recall what had happened; he knew Lisa had taken charged, as she was so gifted at doing, and calmed everyone down. Made sure no one left the office, tried to contact other floors, access the situation. She was brilliant.

And then...

"Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Where the hell is the Doctor?" An all too familiar voice was crackling over the com-units on the telephone. The crowd grew silent.

"Sarai, can you hear me?" Lisa called down the phone.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

"We're here, Sarai we're here."

"Will someone answer me?"

"She can't hear us," Lisa turned to Ianto, "She doesn't know what's happened."

Ianto closed his eyes tightly and swallowed the panic which threatened to engulf him. Breathing deeply he took her hand in his and said, "Lisa, you have to stay here, it's safer. These things are Daleks; one blast from that gun and you are dead. No question. Forever. Sarai is down there, with no idea what is going on, but if I go now I should be able to reach her before they do."

"Safer?"

"Yes, as long as the Doctor is here you just have to keep away from the Daleks long enough for him to work out how to fix this."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"He will. He always does. I need to go now so _stay here_." He pulled his hand away from hers and turned to go.

"Fuck you Ianto Jones," she growled, but her eyes told him it was alright, as her hand let go of his. Then, as a second thought, she grabbed hold of it again and pulled him into a passionate kiss, "Fuck you." _I love you._

..--..--..--..

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Elle asked quietly. Jeff couldn't bring himself to reassure her. They had watched from their office window as the "ghosts" had turned on the humans below. When Jeff had found her, it was already too late to try and make their way back to the others on the floor above. Instead they settled down, waiting to see what would happen, along with the other people trapped in the office.

Twenty minutes later, Jeff, Elle and dozens of others were shocked when a group of soldiers and their General ran into the office; slamming the door shut and hurrying to move anything not attached to the floor against the door.

"What's going on?" Jeff asked. A soldier shushed him, and he could hear the march of metal boots. The whole room froze into a terrified mime, but miraculously the marching carried on past them.

The General was breathing hard, his eyes bulging like some grotesque cartoon. "This is it men," he barked. "We get taken, we'll become one of them and we can't let that happen. We can't let them get the weapons. For Queen and country!"

The officer workers looked at each other. If the situation behind the doors had not been lethal, it might have been humorous.

"Sir," Jeff spoke up, holding a sobbing Elle tightly, "This is the research office, we don't have any weapons."

"Everything!" The General yelled, voice cracking slightly, "Everything could become a weapon! Men-" he called out to the group in dark clothing, cradling machine guns, some (the older ones), in a paternal gesture towards the cold weapons, others in an act of comfort and familiarity. "Begin DORA protocol,"

"General-" one man spoke up, a thin trail of blood winding lazily down his cheek, a snow-light sprinkling of ceiling dust flouring his hair. "That was specific to vehicles and live-stock, there is nothing for us to do."

"Take the women; they cannot help us during an attack. Take them over to that far wall." The General ordered.

"Sir?"

"Do it now!"

Some of the women gladly ran to the other side of the office, relieved of the duty to be brave, at the front and responsible. Elle, however, was one of those who stayed behind; her sobbing had subsided to an undignified gasping. "I'm not going to leave you here Jeff. All it gives me is one more minute than I would have if I stayed with you."

"No Elle-" he pulled her close, breathed in the scent of her kiwi and water melon shampoo. "We might be able to stop them in time." He placed a hand on either side of her face. "You still have a chance."

She stared into his eyes and with a voice of calm certainty, stated, "I'd rather die."

He pulled her to him again and kissed her with an unexplored and forceful passion. He half pulled away, his lips moving against hers as he spoke, "Don't ever say that. Listen to me," he pulled back and looked her straight in the eye, "Look at me. You are going over there. I am going to stay here and barricade the door-" she was shaking her head but he held her face still. "-And I will see you when this is all over."

The other women had all made their way complacently to the other, except Elle. She stood, as if in a vacuum, amongst the crashing and shouting, the wires fizzing in the ceiling, the smashed windows. All she saw was Jeff, all she could hear was her pulsing heartbeat, and his final whispered words of "I love you", before he pushed her away gently and she staggered over to the far wall, still looking him in the eye. He blinked...

Suddenly the sound of hysteria was back, filling her ears and her mind: the racking sobbing, the heavy footfall of the alien soldiers ringing trough the building, the alarms and sirens of the emergency system.

And the General's voice.

"Stand up." An order for those against the wall. The woman next to her struggled but couldn't raise herself up. With a renewed strength born from the idea she was making a difference, Elle hauled the other woman up.

"Initiate protocol," The General barked at the black-clad figures, pointing at the women. Horror showed on their faces.

"You can't!"

The General's face was livid.

"How dare you refuse my orders? Do it now," he went to reach for his belt, where his pistol hung. The soldier closest to him made a grab for the weapon, but the General was too fast. He shot a bullet straight through the man's heart.

The woman Elle was holding screamed.

"This is for your own good." The General said, gun now aimed at the group of women. "You won't be able to defend yourselves when they come. You'll be taken and changed. Converted. You'll become the enemy. There are already too many of them."

Bang!

The screaming stopped as the woman Elle clung to sagged in her arms, face frozen in a perpetual state of terror, a hole through her skull.

The men were talking loudly over each other, trying to calm the General down, none wanting to reach for their weapons in case he shot someone else. Elle could hear a hysterical sobbing coming from her left, and the woman on her right was muttering a prayer under her breath. Further down the line, people were trying to push others in front of them, using their colleagues as protection in case another bullet was fired. She sought out Jeff, with her eyes, in the madness. He had tears streaming down his cheeks as he mouthed to her. "I'm so sorry."

She mouthed back, "I love-"

She never finished. Before the final word had been completed, a solid lump of lead tore into her stomach, stealing her breath. Faintly, she heard a familiar voice scream her name. As if in someone else's dream, she felt her eyes roll back as she fell onto the carpeted office floor. The pain made her mind muddled; she studied the undulations of the carpet from this new, closer level. She could see the individual synthetic threads, some winding around each other like desperate lovers, others (on the surface) in a state of protruding rebellion, bristling against her cheek. She blew out a laboured breath and watched as the closest of the rebels shuddered, like grass in a breeze. Her focus switched from near to far as she felt hands holding her head and putting pressure on the already blinding pain in her abdomen. Through a haze, she saw the face of her fiancé, pale and shaking, close to her own. She smiled faintly, but couldn't make her voice work.

She couldn't finish her last word to him. But she knew he knew it anyway. And he would always know it. Slowly, as if dripping in glue, her eyelids squeezed shut and opened again as she tried the simple act of blinking. She was so tired. Her body protesting... begging her to un-tense her muscles and let go. Let go of what, she couldn't quite grasp. And sleeping sounded so welcoming. So slowly she let the breath leave her body. Elle stilled.

And she never moved again.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N...As usual I don't own this blah blah. But I do love this new Reader Traffic option… I have readers in...

USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, NZ, Sweden, Ireland , Netherlands, Hungary, Bermuda, Czech, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, China, Croatia and Spain!

Which is très cool...

Anyway...here is the next chapter...

Ianto sprinted along the corridors, ducking one way then another to avoid the "men" clad in metal. He had no clue how he was going to do this. Even if he managed to warn Sarai in time, how could they get back upstairs to Lisa and the others? They might have to barricade themselves in one of the ORs; or there might be another way out; he had never really spent enough time in the Medical Wing to know. As he skidded round another corner, he saw a group of figures moving towards him. At first he thought they must be those creatures, but as he focused, he realised they weren't marching; they were human. He went to call out for help. Then he realised who they were...

She walked with such purpose; so different to the girl he had known before. Beside her strode Jackie (the same as ever), and holding her hand was…

Ianto's eyes widened. Pete.

He had only been a child when Pete had died, but he had seen pictures of him.

Uncle Pete

Aunt Jackie

Little Cousin Rose.

And alongside them was the man who, Ianto knew, must be the Doctor. There was just something unexplainable about him- something different and amazing.

"Ianto!" she called, her face plastered with her familiar grin as she ran to him. He noticed how she had to let go of the Doctor's hand to do it. So there _was _something there then.

"You're Ianto?" the Doctor asked, "Rose seems to ring you every two minutes." He started a very bad imitation of Rose's South London accent, "Oh, so, like, there was this thing- this alien thing with tentacles and-" he cut off as Rose whacked him on the arm.

"It isn't safe here," she told Ianto urgently, even as she threw her arms around him.

"I got that Rose." He rolled his eyes. "But I need to find my friend, Sarai, she's down in the medical wing."

Rose stiffened and pulled away. The Doctor placed a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Ianto, but your friend is dead. The whole of that area has been destroyed already." His voice was bitter and strained, and immediately, though it killed him, Ianto believed every word.

"God!" He ran his fingers roughly through his hair, letting out a guttural cry of emotion; fear, pain, grief.

Rose was searching through her pockets. "Ianto, you need to go somewhere safe." At last she pulled out what she was looking for; an ordinary and inconspicuous key. "Find whoever you can and get them into the TARDIS. Ianto listen to me; this is important, your friends, yeah, find them. And Lisa. See, I do pay attention when you tell me things! You love her Ianto; if you can focus on one thing, it will be her. You can do this, get her to safety."

"Where are _you_ going?"

Rose paused, and then whispered, "With _my_ Lisa." She reached simultaneously for the Doctor's hand as he reached for hers, and they were running again, down the corridor, leaving Ianto alone with the key.

..--..--..--..

Clutching the key in his hand so hard his palm could have been bleeding, Ianto ran back the way he had come. His heart was going so fast it punched against his chest, his breathing was ragged from being out of breath and afraid. His mind seemed to be refusing to comprehend the loss of Sarai; all he could think about was finding Lisa and getting to the TARDIS as quickly as possible. But as he realised where he was, he slowed. This was Elle's floor. She and Jeff could still be alive! Simple thoughts were all he could cope with. Palm stinging, he stopped continuing downstairs and turned left into the right corridor. Sitting on the floor, back slumped heavily against the wall, was Jeff. No one else seemed to be around.

"Jeff? We need to get out of here, I found them; Rose and the Doctor. I've got the key to his-"

"I need to go."

"Jeff where is Elle?"

"I need to get away from here."

"Jeff what's happened. Tell-"

"NOW!"

Jeff pushed Ianto weakly against the wall, then jumped back and started towards the stairs again. Startled, Ianto took a few seconds to follow him, with no idea why he was so... strange. At least he seemed to know to head for Lisa.

..--..--..--..

Where was Ianto? They had come for her. In her mind, she had dreaded it, but felt it was inevitable. Inwardly she seemed such a pessimist, but how could you escape the unstoppable forces of those cybermen? How could you get away when you were trapped between two different types of monsters; both intent on destroying you?

She could remember the terror of watching as they forced through the office door with no effort at all, and started advancing on her friends and colleagues, rounded them up for the slaughter. They didn't seem to be in a hurry to take her anywhere. It was like they were waiting. And they were; for a minute later a group had walked in, carrying in their cold arms what looked horrifyingly like scrap metal and surgical tools. The fear had risen from the pit of her stomach into her throat and she coughed up her lunchtime Paella. Her last meal.

And everything had gone black.

Now she was awake again, and all she could hear was her own screams. There was no one else with her; not even those cybermen in her isolation. All the tools and odds of metal and screws were strewn across the floor as if carelessly left there in a hurry. Of course, they probably had been in one. Looking at her body showed her own dark, sweat drenched skin from between metal plates. She had been spared by some accident of timing or distraction. But they would come back and, unable to walk, or even crawl, she was out on her own; she could only wait for the end to come. Alone. Where was Ianto?

..--..--..--..

When they reached Lisa, Ianto thought it was too late. There was so much blood and, worse still, she was covered in a grotesque metal armour which stripped away the dignity of her death.

Then she stirred. It was barely a twitch but it was all they needed. Wordlessly - Ianto could barely catch his breath - the two men gingerly lifted her from the ground.

All he knew was that he had to get to the TARDIS. He needed to get Lisa to safety.

Clearing his thoughts, it was clear that the only way to storage, where Rose had left the Doctor's ship, was the way he had already been going; down the stair wells. Hauling Lisa all the way down the flights would be dangerous; at any time the Cybermen could march out into the stairwell and they might not be able to move her fast enough. But he knew it was their only chance, and it had to be fast before there were too many of them, or before something else happened.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank to hotflower901, devil burns, cinnamon988 and janto-gal for the reviews! And to everyone who has favved or alerted this fic!

On with the next instalment!

..--..--..--..

Lisa was still unconscious and Jeff was silent as they entered the basement rooms. He had been silent since his previous outburst outside Elle's office. If Ianto hadn't been so caught up with Lisa, he might have been seriously worried, but as it was, he barely noticed. It had taken twenty minutes to navigate their way down the stairwell, even when no Cybermen had actually been in the stairs. The metal covering Lisa had been heavy, and they had had to lift her feet so they didn't cause a sharp ringing sound on the ground. There were no windows this far down, so seeing the devastation in London would have been impossible, even if Ianto had had any desire to see more carnage.

All the… aliens… seemed to have been called to attention higher up in the building because the huge hangar was eerily empty. They froze as the first tentative footsteps into the vast space echoed cringingly against the walls, but quickly realised there was nothing here to hear them. Ianto lowered Lisa down gently behind some crates (supposedly filled with various alien perishables) and covered her with his jacket. He started looking for the tell-tale blue box, but just seeing the enormous space he was running out of hope, when a flashing light caught his attention. He scrambled towards it, not entirely conscious of why… after all it could be anything.

But it wasn't just anything.

There was the TARDIS, the light in its top flashing urgently. Trembling, Ianto pushed the key into the lock and twisted it around until he heard it click open. Breathing in a ragged breath, he pushed the door and peered inside. He had only been in the TARDIS once and it still amazed (and slightly scared) him.

"Here you are," he whispered. He didn't know how, but he was sure that the machine hummed gently back. Rose has always joked that there were three of them; her, the Doctor and his TARDIS; The Time Lord had a love-hate relationship with the sentient ship. Ianto had thought she was joking... apparently not.

"Jeff, bring her over!" he called out of the ship as loudly as he dared. It only took a minute to drag Lisa to the safety of the TARDIS, but it felt like the longest sixty seconds of Ianto's life. Only when the door was shut again did he breathe a sigh of relief in to the eerie silence of the vast chamber.

And so they waited.

..--..--..--..

Ianto had no idea how long he had been inside the ship; he didn't even have the energy to look at the display on his mobile to see the time. All he could do was sit, slumped against the main console, absently stroking Lisa's hand with his fingertips. The TARDIS seemed to block any noise from outside, for which he was grateful; even with his faith, Rose's faith, in the Doctor, he didn't know what he would be hearing outside those doors… screams? Metal footfalls? He didn't want to know; it was all too much. He just wanted to slee-

_Buzz buzz_

Ianto started as his phone started vibrating, hands shaking he picked it up, looking at the name on the screen.

James Hallett.

He pressed red to hang-up; he couldn't face Lisa's brother. He couldn't tell him he'd gone back on his promise to always protect her- to never hurt her. Because she was hurt and he hadn't been with her.

_Buzz buzz_

"Shut up!" he groaned.

_Buzz buzz_

Finally, he relented, picking up the phone and answering it in a shaking voice.

"Jamie?"

"Ianto, where are you? It's all over the news; creatures all over London. What's going on?" the voice was panicked and confused; James had no idea what his sister and her boyfriend did for a living.

"We- I'm fine," Ianto started, "We're in a safe place."

"Safe? They are saying the whole of London is unsafe. Are you still in London? Where is Lisa - let me talk to her."

"Lisa is - Jamie she was," Ianto choked on his words. He couldn't say it. Not out loud.

"She's what Ianto?" He hadn't missed the Welshman's tone. But James Hallett was like a pitbull and wouldn't stop trying to get what he wanted because of someone's feelings. Ianto had always been a little scared of him because of that.

"They caught her."

"They?"

"The - those creatures…"

"Is she dead?" It was so matter of fact and calm. Accepting even.

"No - she's different."

"I see." Clearly he didn't, couldn't see what Ianto meant, but the line went dead and Jamie was gone.

..--..--..--..

It felt like days had passed. Weeks even. But the Doctor and Rose still hadn't come back. Ianto tried to clear his head. What he needed now, to stop the uncertainty, was a link to the outside world. His phone was completely devoid of battery and the only place he could think of was Rose's room in the TARDIS, with its old television with the dodgy signal. It had been a running joke; we travel in time but I can't work a TV. We travel in time but he has a sonic _screwdriver_. This time he prayed it was working - that the news stations were covering this.

Up the corridor, left then third right, up the stairs (one flight) then five doors down take that room through to her bedroom. She had only told him once, but he remembered. He always did.

He didn't want to leave Lisa, but he had no choice. Jeff was sat on her other side, staring blankly at the opposite wall.

"I need to see what's going on. I'm going to find a TV so I can watch the news okay? Can you stay with Lisa?"

Jeff nodded.

Taking in a deep breath it took Ianto a few minutes to walk through the expansive corridors until he stood in front of her door. He didn't know why but it felt like he should knock. Fighting back the strange urge, he opened the door and knew at once it was Rose's room.

There were posters on the walls, photographs of her and the Doctor smiling out at him with people they had met on their travels. Their happier travels where and when disaster was far away. There were aliens with three eyes, blue skin, aliens that looked like humans - one with a leather jacket and ordinary white t-shirt even! Or maybe he was human.

The television itself was piled with clothes she hadn't put away or washed (how did you wash clothes on a space… or time ship?).

As soon as he turned it on, although the screen was fizzing in and out of reception and the volume kept cutting out, that the World was in panic. Each station was taken by news programmes - footage on the devastation of the city - people being shot. Millions of Daleks. One iconic image, it seemed, playing over all channels was of an old woman shielding her young grandson against the onslaught. Ianto slumped back down. No one had anymore answers than he had, so he tuned out the words being said and let his head loll back. Lisa was alive; that was something. And so were he and Jeff-

Then the pitch and tone of the newsreader changed. It was excited, frenzied. He looked up; there on the screen was footage of the aliens being… he didn't know the word… _sucked_ back towards Canary Wharf. The Doctor had done it. Of course he had. With new found energy, he staggered back to the central room and pulled Jeff and Lisa into a tight embrace, not entirely registering the unresponsiveness from the other two. Now all they had to do was wait for the Doctor and Rose to get back.

..--..--..--..

It had been an hour. He had timed it with Jeff's watch. An hour since the Doctor had saved the world and still no sign of them. Had something happened? Were they both okay? His head was pounding, but Jeff had started talking again, and although the sound aggravated his migraine, it was better than the empty shell his friend had been previously. Funny, how he hadn't noticed till he was better again. Lisa was still unconscious, but breathing and very much alive, that they could tell. But if the Doctor was… if he had… Lisa might need help _now. _And he might not have time to wait.

But it was a gamble; to leave the relative safety of the TARDIS to find help from Torchwood. The old saying rang in his mind, "If it's alien, it's ours."

But Lisa was human, just damaged by aliens. Surely Yvonne would see her as the victim? If she was even still alive herself.

He made up his mind when Lisa had started fitting. It had only lasted a minute, but the sight of her writhing silently on the ground was almost unbearable. He and Jeff lifted her from the TARDIS and back into Torchwood Three basements, which still seemed to be abandoned.

"Are you leaving, sir?"

The voice was shaken and seemed unsure of itself. Ianto and Jeff hurried to hide Lisa; they weren't sure who they could trust in Torchwood to grant her proper help. How many people like her were there? Was there a policy for this? A contingency plan? But from the shadows, Ianto could see it was a disgruntled worker and the Doctor. He made to move out of the darkness, but Jeff held him back.

"Rose?" he whispered. Ianto turned sharply to find his friend was right. Rose wasn't there - and the Doctor was… he looked sad? Worse than sad; he had obviously been crying. Something Ianto had never thought of the Doctor as doing.

The Timelord climbed wearily into the little blue box, while Ianto debated whether or not to call out to him or to ask for help.

What of Rose? Had she been - he could barely think it. Had she been killed? Why hadn't the Doctor protected her? Could he trust that man with Lisa?

And then Jeff was pulling at his sleeve and saying something Ianto couldn't quite hear; the words were slurred together and incomprehensible. But a second later the unmistakable sound of whirring cut through his head and he looked up to see the TARDIS gone.

..--..--..--..

..--..--..--..

Gasp so what will happen next?! Review? Please? You know you want to!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Quick update because I have this small bit written, but then the next few days in the fic are floating around in my head unwritten and I need incentive to type them up...so review and give me a reason! :P

..--..--..--..

Torchwood One didn't do body bags.

There wasn't particular need for respect when it was only alien corpses you dealt in.

Except now, in the wake of the devastation, they needed them. Someone had had the idea of using the sheets from the Medical Wing to wrap the bodies, but there were so many those quickly ran out.

But it gave Ianto a way of getting Lisa out. There were sheets covering crates all over the basement level and, as long as she was completely covered, no one would know.

It was Jeff who had made him do it in the end; Ianto still wanted to hold onto that small shred of belief in the human race, still wanted to believe that Lisa would be treated with compassion and care.

But Jeff had been sure... absolutely and chillingly certain, that they would kill her if they saw her.

But, just before they started to conceal her, Lisa woke up. It wasn't the joyous reunion of Hollywood romances. Lisa was in so much _real_ pain, and the men had no idea what she needed, and with regret they told her so. They might not have known, but she had.

"Help me up, Ianto."

'Are you sure?"

"Yes, I can see better standing up."

Her eyes darted this way and that as she pointed out what she needed. "That box there."

It was huge and metal; cold and clinical to Ianto, but surprisingly lighter than he had anticipated, though it took himself and Jeff to lift the thing and take it to the exit doorway.

"What else?" he asked, though he wasn't sure how Lisa could possibly know.

"There isn't anything else here that can be of use."

So they carefully wrapped her in the sheet and proceeded to carry her between them through the storage room and to the Exit sign. At the time Ianto remembered feeling like they were having the luckiest break in the world; not meeting anyone in their bid for escape. It wasn't until later he discovered that they were three of only twenty-seven that had survived. No one would have cared if they had been seen.

After getting out of the building itself, it was clear the impact on Torchwood Tower was a focal point; there were police cars and ambulances everywhere, and even a few fire engines. Hundreds of people were rushing either into or out of the building. The vehicles lay unattended as their inhabitants were ordered to give all the support they could. It was this act of compassion which allowed Ianto and Jeff to lay Lisa in the back of an abandoned ambulance. Carefully, Ianto reversed until the back of the vehicle was against the exit of the storage facilities to allow Jeff and Lisa to heave the box into the back. Then he started the engine and promptly drove away, as if they were going back to a hospital.

..--..--..--..

Ianto's hands shook on the steering wheel. He couldn't believe this. He had stolen an ambulance - that was a hell of a lot worse than that pair of jeans and two t-shirts he'd tried to lift from TopMan when he was fifteen. And it was going to get him a lot more than four weeks...

"Are you okay back there?" he yelled into the back of the vehicle.

"Fine, she's doing fine. I gave her some morphine and she's asleep."

"Jeff, about Elle-"

"Don't."

There was silence.

Ianto only seemed to be able to grasp one thing at a time. Elle's absence was pushed out of his head by stealing the ambulance, pushed out by concentrating on driving.

But all the while he was thinking of Lisa; his one constant thought.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N I have decided I work a lot better in short and reasonably frequent bursts, so here is another one for ya... Review? Pwease?

..--..--..--..

They drove the ambulance to a few roads away from Ianto and Lisa's flat, where they abandoned it as too conspicuous. They took Lisa first, hoping no one was looking out of their windows into the nearly deserted street. Once she was inside, they went back for the box. There was no writing on the side and nothing to suggest what is contained, but as long as it helped Lisa, Ianto couldn't have cared less.

The first day after the Battle. It had taken all night, but they had it up. Lisa called it a "Unit", Ianto called it "Life Support". Jeff called it nothing at all. He hadn't spoken a word since they had gotten in the previous night. At first Ianto thought it was exhaustion, that Jeff just needed to rest, but even after he had slept, Jeff still wouldn't or couldn't speak. He would grunt or nod or shrug, but no words. Ianto decided he'd have to deal with that later.

Lisa was having trouble with eating, saying that it hurt to chew and swallow, so he found himself absently mashing potatoes and peas at regular intervals throughout the day. Bringing in water every half hour to keep her hydrated. The machine was set up in the living room. It was Lisa's favourite room; she loved to trace out the line they had tacked into the wall. It had been their project. He had written everything Rose told him in his journals, of course, but Lisa wanted to see what Rose had said, and there was no way she was reading his diary. So she had bought a long roll of paper and drawn a line down the middle freehand. It had been kept in the cupboard, then, moved to the living room floor where they would write out details of dates and aliens and other things they were told. Post-it notes and colour coding. He remembered mucking around a few months ago with her; writing little notes on the post-its and hiding them round the house. A note in his empty underwear draw; "You won't be needing these", one attached to the fridge; "Remember to buy strawberries and dipping chocolate for tonight". Her laughter when he produced that blindfold (on Sarai's advice). Feeding her the fruit. Licking the dripping chocolate from her nose.

It was the same as how he remembered the room then, dark with the same furniture, but different. Fear and pain replacing the sensual carefree atmosphere. He found it difficult to be in there with her, strapped as she was in the machine. So contrasting to the Lisa she knew. The Lisa who had organised the group camping trips. The Lisa who loved to do the washing up. The Lisa he had been in love with for almost seven years.

..--..--..--..

On the second day, not much changed. Except the fact Jeff seemed to be deteriorating; he would spend hours at a time not responding at all to Ianto. Ianto spent most of the day watching the coverage on the TV, learning how few people had survived. He read Lisa the information from the Timeline on the wall.

"She went to a planet where the inhabitants flirted purely through how they moved their feet. What with all the running they were doing, Rose and the Doctor where the most promiscuous beings there. Or that time when I started to tell her about that dinner we went to... the one at the fancy restaurant that the guys paid for your birthday. Do you remember? And she got all huffy and tried to convince us she managed to pull some handsome officer to the background music of Glenn Miller. And here's when she went back in time and met Queen Victoria."

Eventually they fell asleep; Lisa in her metal casing and Ianto out on the sofa.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Only a really short bit but it was just a little intermediate bit in between other scenes, even if it is very necessary! Please Review!

On the third day a woman came to the door.

She was middle-aged and average, with mousey hair and nervous eyes, but utterly forgettable to any ordinary person.

To Ianto, however, she had the kind of face and demeanour that he could only fully remember on seeing the woman again, but wouldn't be able to recall her purely from memory in any more than a vague or hazy way. In short she was a blessing. It was comforting to have someone who he couldn't absolutely remember, someone with no distinctive features, other than being completely indistinctive.

At first he ignored her - she was probably some neighbouring busybody wondering why the blinds were always closed. He and Lisa, like most other people, did not make any particular effort to get to know the other people living on their road. Neighbours were people who you only really talked to to ask why there was a police van at number 25 or if the newsagents was closing down, when you both found yourselves on the pavement at the same moment in an attempt to cover the awkwardness of the perpetual meeting of familiar strangers. Or when they yelled at you to keep the noise down when you were "having a night in". Which, incidentally, hadn't happened to Lisa and Ianto yet, because the bedroom was strategically placed on the side of the house not backing onto another resident's rooms.

But, as the hours wore on and the woman continued staring at the house, Ianto's sense of unease grew rapidly. Finally, as he watched through a tiny gap the curtains, she moved; towards the front door then away into the street until out of sight. Nervously, Ianto left his post in the living room, next to a sleeping Jeff and Lisa, and ran down the stairs. There, on the doormat, was a single sheet of A4 paper (lined), on which was written in neat printed capitals;

I SAW YOU TAKE HER INSIDE. I KNOW WHAT SHE IS. I CAN HELP.

Ianto was sure his heart stopped. They had been so careful to have her fully wrapped in that sheet... how could that woman have seen she was partly converted? How could she have seen that Lisa was a "she" at all through the covering in the first place? His breathing slowed. She probably didn't know the truth - she had seen something else; thought something else. There was no need to be paranoid.

Still, he didn't tell Lisa or Jeff about the woman or her note.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N I feel so lovely for putting all these new chapters up! Once again I am begging very pathetically for reviews..even flames...well maybe... :P

..--..--..--..

The next day another note appeared.

BELIEVE ME. SHE WON'T SURVIVE LONG LIKE THIS. MEET ME AT 'S CAFE AT 12.00. I CAN HELP.

She won't survive long? It didn't mater now if the woman was senile or mad or - if Lisa was in danger, he had nothing to lose by going and everything to gain.

Donning an unobtrusive coat and jeans, Ianto walked briskly out of the house at 11.45 to meet the note-giver.

St George's was usually busy with clientele consisting of anyone from builders and labourers on weekdays, to rugby and football players at the weekend. It was nearly always full, and there was talk of moving across the road to a bigger plot so they could fit in more tables. Today, however, the woman was the only one there. She sat, in the same dress as she had been wearing the previous day. It was a strange outfit; a pale floral print smock, which Ianto associated with Dot Cotton and harassed war-time housewives. He was suddenly nervous. She stood up and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Hello."

Ianto, however, didn't see the point in beating about the bush, "What did you mean by those notes?"

She observed him steadily.

"Exactly what I said."

"What do you think is going to happen to-"

"You don't believe me," she looked him right in the eye as she said it. He felt uncomfortable, violated even, being stared at in such an intense manner with those watery, lifeless eyes. But something made him hold her gaze.

"You don't believe me, Ianto Jones, but you should." Her voice was so soft a part of him, some small unconscious part, knew she was right... he should believe her.

"I don't understand what I am meant to believe."

"Her name is Lisa. Isn't it?"

Kind eyes. Her eyes were kind and he could trust her.

"Yes."

"And she is-" she paused as if trying to find the right word. Trying to find the kindest words, because, Ianto thought absently, she was that sort of person.

"Half-converted?" he supplied, trying to be helpful, trying to please her.

She smiled at him, "That's right; half-converted. She's at your house isn't she?" Ianto nodded as she continued, "There is a place you can take her. It is a secret, you have to understand. It deals with the poor victims of alien attacks."

Victims... yes... that was what Lisa was wasn't it? She was on their side.

"But Ianto, my dear." She reached over and stroked his cheek, still holding his eyes with her gaze, "It is a little while away, this place."

"Anywhere."

"It's in Wales. Near Cardiff."

Ianto murmured his understanding, "I know Cardiff, we used to live there you know, Lisa and I."

She smiled, as if he were a child telling her about some new exciting fact she had known already, "I know that Ianto. Do you want me to tell you about this special place?"

Ianto felt himself nod. How could he have ever doubted this woman's intent? She would help them.

She curled her fingers round his hand on the plastic table-top and gently prised it open so he palms were laid bare towards the ceiling. She smiled at him reassuringly and pressed a card into his hand. It felt like a business card and the corners pricked his fingers, but he felt no need to glance down to check his assumption.

"There are lovely nurses there who can take care of Lisa, and you can come and see her while she is there. Doesn't that sound good?"

She tugged a napkin from the holder on the table and laid it on her lap, then took another and leaned close to Ianto and tucked it carefully into the top of his t-shirt. It bought back memories, memories of the time he _couldn't_ remember. Before he had lived with Rose's aunt and uncle as his parents. Hazy parts of faces, ghosts of a sound or a voice. Granny Di.

"They'll give you free transport you know. And it will be free to have her treated too you know. You'll go, won't you, my dove?"

"Of course I will."

"Of course you will," she echoed fondly, "Because you are a brave, brave little soldier and you love her don't you. Now I have to go, but you just read the card and then everything will be fine."

Ianto half wanted to reach out and stop her from going, but she was getting up before he could, gazing down at him as if he were the only person in the whole world.

Then she turned sharply on her heel and walked through the open cafe door.

The break of eye contact was so sudden Ianto felt it like a shock. He blinked up at the artificial lighting on the cafe ceiling and suddenly felt the pull of a migraine at the corners of his eyes.

"Food?" A voice called from the counter, and a young worker waved at him to get his attention. He was sure they hadn't been there before.

"No. No, thank you." He dismissed absently and shakily got up, ripping at the scratching napkin at his throat. The paper square drifted to the ground as he lurched to the side, gripping into the side of a table to steady himself. The pressure on his palm reminded him suddenly of the card the woman had placed into it. Blinking rapidly and trying to clear his head he looked down at the card in his hand.

It was a plain business card, seemingly chosen at random, with the name H.C Clements printed on one side and, on the other, instructions in her clear writing;

PHONE THIS NUMBER; 0208460890 AND ASK FOR CHRIS. HE WILL GET YOU THERE SAFELY.

Then, under that, in the same lettering was written, what Ianto could only assume was the name of the place he was to go,

FLAT HOLM.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Yet another short chapter...but will update soon...if I get reviews? *sweet face*

..--..--..--..

Flat Holm, Google told him, was an island in the Bristol Channel with a lighthouse, a farm house and not much else going for it. Nothing to link it to aliens or Torchwood, but why would there be? Yvonne, like many, had always prided herself on being the secret elite. This other organisation was hardly going to be flashing it around for anyone to read. When he had gotten home, it was almost a sign, it seemed, that a piece of the timeline had come undone. It was a small post-it note with "Cardiff?" scrawled on it. Cardiff, he knew, had something significant to do with the Doctor; he turned up there all too often. Not for the first time since... since Canary Wharf, his mind drifted to the absent Time Lord, and his even more absent cousin. What had he done to Rose? Rose had trusted him explicitly, but Torchwood had always held the belief that the alien was a danger, a threat. Rose was only one girl, younger than Ianto. Could she really have been right about him, when hundreds of files and witness accounts said otherwise? Maybe, if he did go to Flat Holm, if he did get Lisa help, he could find the Doctor in Cardiff. Find out what had happened to Rose. Maybe...

..--..--..--..

Ianto knew he needed to go shopping, but leaving Lisa and Jeff was an uninviting prospect. Being on his own was an uninviting prospect. At last, at eight in the evening, they had exhausted all the food in the fridge, so while Jeff and Lisa were asleep, Ianto drove to the 24hr petrol station. As quickly as he could, he collected up milk, eggs, bread and ham slices for him and Jeff, and a large packet of CuppaSoup for Lisa, who was still having trouble eating solid food. The cashier didn't give him a second glance, except to grunt "Petrol?" to which Ianto shook his head, but he still felt exposed, and drove home drastically pushing the limit.

When he returned home, there was a dull, muted noise coming from upstairs. Panicking, he fumbled with the door keys and when the door was finally open, realised the noise was screaming. Taking the stairs three at a time, he vaulted into the living room.

Lisa was writhing in her metal casing, tears streaming down her cheeks, which were, in turn, contorted in pain. Standing in front of her, watching her intently and screaming just as loudly. was Jeff. Unlike Lisa he didn't seem to be a pain, just blank.

Ianto ran quickly over to the Unit but had no idea if there was a way of stopping the pain. "I'm so sorry, I can't do anything. Lisa what hurts? What's wrong?"

"Everything," She cried out, gritting her teeth for a second before a scream tore out of her lips again.

"Everything," Jeff screamed just as loudly.

But there was something he could do, somewhere he could take her. Some where he knew nothing about, except it was on Flat Holm Island. But it was looking more and more inviting every passing minute.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N- Yet another update, this is one of a few flashbacks, which are key, not only to Ianto's past, but also to what's happening in the present...Enjoy!

..--..--..--..

Ianto calmed as he stirred the tea; he only made tea for himself normally, but the absence of Lisa's coffee was tangible. He let his mind wander to the first time he'd met Lisa; when he was barely seventeen and working in his Father's shop for a Saturday job.

..--..--..--..

Ianto stirred the tea in front of him, staring into space. There was a man coming in for a fitting in five minutes, and his Father always had to have a tea ready when he had a booking. Have a sit down, cup of tea, find out what materials the customer wanted, what colours... He said it made people feel relaxed and special. The bell above the shop door tinkled, and Ianto knew this was his cue to place the two mugs on the table at the front of the shop, then go to the back room and tidy up until his Father needed him again. He made it two steps into the shop floor when he saw that the man was accompanied by a girl of his own age. He hesitated. Did he make tea for her too? His Father took the mugs from him with a smile. "Do you want to make the young lady a tea too, Ianto?" he prompted.

"I'll help!" the girl declared and almost skipped past Ianto into the small kitchen area. Shrugging at his Father's concerned look, he followed the girl in, lest she break something while unsupervised.

She was already sitting on the worktop, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Lisa," she said, smiling, "Lisa Hallet. You're Ianto, right?"

"How did you-"

She laughed. "Well that's what that guy out there called you. I kind of thought I could assume!"

"Oh, right." Ianto grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. He felt like a complete idiot; here was a fucking gorgeous girl, who would have little else to do than talk to him for half an hour, and he was already sounding like a total pillock.

"So I have a confession," Lisa continued, inspecting her nails.

"Oh?" Smooth, Jones, real smooth.

"I don't actually like tea. I thought it would be a bit awkward if I stayed out there and you made tea for no reason so I could pretend to drink it."

"How can you pretend to drink tea?"

"There's quite a list."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mmmm tipping it into plant pots is always a favourite."

"Sorry, no plants here."

"Then it's a good job I didn't stay out there. I would have no way of getting rid of the tea."

"Do you want something else? I think we have coffee? Not entirely sure how to make it though."

"Oh I can show you! I used to live in London-"

"The accent was a bit of a give-away."

She laughed again. "I'll have to call you Detective Ianto. Anyway, the coffee there is so expensive to buy in the cafes I just end up making my own. Okay, this weird paper thing, you put that in this compartment and fill it with the coffee powder stuff. Then just pour the water in here and put the pot underneath. There, all done. Now we just wait for the pot to fill and heat up. So, do you live round here?"

"Yeah, I go to St. Thomas' up the street. You _used_ to live in London? Does that mean you live here now?"

"Yeah, we up and moved here just in time for my A-levels. I'm starting at Forest Greene this September, deep joy."

"So I'm guessing you would have preferred to stay in London?"

"God, yes. In London I know stuff. I can tell you what train to catch and where to buy things. But here, I don't know anything. It's like I'm in another country."

"You are." Ianto deadpanned. Lisa, once again, began to laugh. She looked even better when she laughed.

"You know what I mean! I feel like I need a Tour Guide."

"I could show you around." Okay, where did that come from? The normal Ianto Jones didn't just ask girl's to-

"That would be great! Tours for Coffee. Sounds like a fair exchange. So, you ever been to London?"

"Yeah; visiting family."

Half an hour later, when the order for her Father's suit had been made and Lisa had passed him her home phone number and told him to ring her when he was free for the tour, Ianto's Father turned to him with a knowing smile.

Ianto groaned, "Please, just don't talk."

Ianto's Father continued to laugh as his son attempted to bury his red face in his arms.


End file.
